Pebbles in the pond

Emissaries, and the Apple

Part 81 of the ongoing saga of The Great Being, the One Self that manifests as each of us.

Thus began the diaspora of human messengers to the ends of the Earth, planting the good news that the most powerful being in the universe is living through us. Athenius returned to Hellas and received a hero’s welcome, as the populace largely believed his stories of Atlantis, and what he learned there.

Word spread and a group of Rebels accosted him on a side street and searched him thoroughly, much to his indignity. Agents appearing as a pack of feral dogs gave chase to the Rebels, who retreated only after they had assured themselves that Athenius carried no prize of Atlantis. The Rebel grapevine had somehow led Rebels to believe that Athenius would be carrying some advanced weaponry given to him by the Atlanteans.

Athenius already had a solid backing in Polis, and was widely taken to be nothing if not the One Honest Man — having irritated nearly everyone by speaking only the truth. So the idea that he of all people would make up a story was incongruous and people laughed at the notion, despite the efforts of the Rebels to paint him as an ambitious liar. He rose swiftly to great influence and his philosophical ideas spread like wildfire.

He was only the first of the emissaries. Once the process started to show its positive effects, more and more Atlantean expeditions went out to the four corners of the Earth to find exceptional leaders, inviting them to visit and bring back new learning. Rebel efforts to thwart the program were largely evaded by popping up in unexpected places and with considerable stealth. The ability to block telepathic signals without being detected was an enormous advantage that the Agent forces had over most Rebels. The Agents had much more control over their own consciousness because they were in unity with themselves, whereas the Rebels were living a nightmare of their own imaginations and thus were more divided internally within their consciousness, a state not conducive to advanced telepathic techniques.

Sniike had remained in Atlantis, and not by choice. “What do you mean?!” he said when first told of his fate.

“Let’s face it, Sniike old buddy,” Adam said to him with sincere affection, “Deep down inside you know you’re a Rebel. You know it, and we all know it.”

“Is that what you call it?” Sniike retorted furiously, “You’re the dupes of a traitor who stabbed the rest of his brethren in the back. His coup d’état started it all, we’re just counterattacking.”

Adam merely smiled a sad little smile. He wished he had greater power to help Sniike. So did everybody in Atlantis. Sniike, the only permanent guest, found that he had become somewhat of a celebrity on the island. Everyone wanted to meet him and to see if they could be the one to talk sense into him, in what was a pleasant and well-intended competition.

He was under constant surveillance by microscopic flying gold rings, Atlantis’s eyes and ears — and noses, tongues, and fingers as needed, able to bring back the five human senses and much more.

“He’s what?” Melchizedek asked, upon hearing a briefing from Atlantis on Sniike’s activities. No one was surprised to hear that he was trying to telepathically contact other rebels back home, which was expected and routinely blocked, although Sniike was allowed to fantasize that he had made contact. The surprising thing was this other odd habit: Sniike was capturing a certain type of bug in his garden — he was of course still staying at the palatial pad he had been given — and he was grinding up the bugs into a paste, with unknown intent.

“A love potion,” Maitreya told them. “It actually irritates human females in their love spot, and as often turns them off as on.”

“Interesting!” Layla said and they all looked at her. Then they all laughed.

In the weeks that followed, Sniike dated women and tried out his love potion on them. Many of them, although appearing to be beautiful human women, were actually parts of Atlantis, conscious artificial intelligences, counterspies. Much bedding ensued. The AIs were able to read Sniike like a book and the beetle paste had zero effect on their bubble bodies — although Sniike saw and felt only their ersatz meat bodies.

One day Sniike was visiting Adam and Eve — Eve actually, Adam was away — and she detected Sniike sneaking off to inject some of his love potion in a fruit hanging on a large tree. Sure enough, a little while later, while strolling casually together in the Eden garden, Sniike reached up and took a certain apple off the tree, bit and ate of it enthusiastically, and offered the apple to Eve. To be cordial she took a dainty bite, and as he encouraged her to take more, she took a great gulp. Soon she imagined she had feelings down there, knowing it was metaphysically impossible but just for fun she pretended she had them. Sniike shortly thereafter tried to sit closer to her, but she pretended to already be in motion and ignorant of his actions. A few tries later, being pretty smart, he got it and gave up, although she was the one he had wanted since he first saw her. Her or Layla, he reminded himself.

Although he remained a rake trying to bed every pseudowoman on Atlantis, he also began a lifelong study of natural cures, which he tested on himself, to have some sort of hobby to give meaning or at least content to his life. He saw himself as a determined and loyal courageous spy doing his best to get messages through, reporting his endless spying on Atlantis. Often he would learn something he considered valuable from his conversations with the Agents or with Atlantis, or with one of the angels or cherubs impersonating humans in Atlantis, but especially when he was invited to meet new guests from around the world. He valued these freedoms the Atlanteans gave him, and even their friendship.

A day came when he approached Eden and the kids came running to greet him, so much did they like him. “Uncle Sniike!” both PlayAllDay and ThinkAllNight called gaily to him, running up to hug him. And he found that he was just as attached to them, as he hugged and kissed them both with utter sincerity.

Eve and Adam came up to join them. “Say, friend,” Adam asked, “do you have any more of that tree-bark stuff?” The Atlanteans made sure that Sniike knew they took his practice seriously and that it was a contribution to their society. Sniike opened a pouch at his waist and handed over a few pinches to Adam, who licked it off his own hand. “Yum!” Adam said.